


Open House

by honestgrins



Series: To Rely on the Kindness of Strangers [22]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Day One - All Human, F/M, klarolineauweek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-11
Updated: 2016-04-11
Packaged: 2018-06-01 14:20:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6523627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honestgrins/pseuds/honestgrins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: Hii! I'm not sure if you're still taking prompt requests, but I just thought of something! (Human) Klaroline + I'm trying to sell you and your two daughter's my grandma's house but I'm the most awkward and clumsy person you could ever think of while showing you around-and your handsome looks are anything but helping to make me seem professional</p>
            </blockquote>





	Open House

"What are we doing today," Margaret asked, swinging Klaus's left hand as they walked.

"We're walking, duh," Evelyn answered her sister from Klaus's other side.

Sighing, Klaus kept their pace even as they made their through the posh residential neighborhood. "Mind your manners, Evie," he chided. "And we're going to look for a house, Meg."

Margaret scrunched her face in confusion. "Mommy didn't say we were getting a new house," she said.

"I'm getting a new house," Klaus clarified, squeezing both their hands as they finally arrived. "What do you think, girls?"

"It's pretty," Margaret cooed, loving the pretty trees and garden brightening up the gray house. At ten years old, that's really all Margaret looked for in a house.

Evelyn gasped, pulling Klaus's hand to move faster. "There's a swingset out back," she cried happily.

Peeking around the side, Klaus realized it was more of a porch swing settled in the backyard. "Don't get too excited, it might not come with the house," he said, tempering the girl's expectations. "And we're just looking, I'm not sure this will be the right house for me."

"I don't know," a voice called from the open window nearest to them. Klaus turned to see a blonde woman smiling brightly and waving to the girls. "This is a pretty great house."

The girls waved back happily, and Evelyn pulled Klaus down so she could whisper in his ear. "She's really pretty," she said.

Privately, Klaus agreed, but he wasn't about to tell the excitable eight-year-old about that. Instead, he turned to address the woman watching them from the window. "I'm Klaus Mikaelson," he greeted with a nod. "I had an appointment for ten."

"Then you're right on time," the woman answered, vacating the window.

As they approached the front door, Klaus could hear a loud thump from inside the house. "Are you all right," he called out.

"Fine," the woman answered. Seconds and few more thumps later, she finally opened the door. Brushing a loose curl from her face, she smiled nervously. "Hi, I'm Caroline. Please, come in!"

"Thank you," Klaus said, letting the girls go in first.

"And who are you," Caroline asked. She was clearly more relaxed as she crouched to meet the girls' level.

"I'm Meggie," the six-year-old cried out, excited to talk to the pretty lady. "That's Evie."

Offering her hand to Evelyn first, then for Margaret to shake, Caroline feigned a serious expression. "It's very nice to meet you both," she said, awkwardly trying to stand upright in her pencil skirt. She wobbled a bit, and Klaus worried she might break an ankle in her heels. Giggling out of sheer frustration, she finally managed and looked up to find a very amused Klaus. "Sorry, I'm normally more professional than this."

"You're doing fine, love," he replied warmly, ignoring the curious looks from the girls watching them. "I assume you're the Caroline with whom I've been emailing?"

"Yes," she said, nodding firmly as she offered her hand. She was not expecting him to bring it to his lips, but she was a big girl. Caroline could handle a little flirting over business, as long as she closed the deal. "Caroline Forbes, and this is my grandmother's house. She's decided to move in with my aunt, and I'm the realtor in the family, so it was kind of a no-brainer to have me handle the listing, and this is a lot of information you didn't ask for. Sorry about that. Would you like to see the house?"

Klaus felt his smile stretch across his face the more she rambled. He would never use the word "cute" willingly, but it certainly came to mind the more Caroline spoke. "That would be lovely, sweetheart."

Shaking her head, Caroline turned her focus to the matter at hand. She had no business checking his ring finger, and it definitely shouldn't matter that it's completely bare. The little girls were adorable, but there clearly must be a story to their family and Caroline should respect them enough not to hit on their dad. He's just trying to buy the house.

"So," she coughed just as she walked straight into the end table, "this is the living room. The kitchen, as you can see, is very open-concept. This is perfect for entertaining at any level. From intimate family dinners to giant parties, this can be a very accommodating home for socializing."

Pulling on his hand, Margaret sighed dramatically. "The swingset, Uncle Nik," she moaned, pointing outside the French doors. "Please?"

He smiled, and Caroline might have moaned herself for the dimples that appeared. "You should ask Ms. Forbes," he said, not so subtly emphasizing her lack of a wedding ring herself.

"Can we," Margaret asked excitedly, Evie jumping up and down beside her.

"You may," Caroline allowed, laughing as the girls all but ran out of the house. Turning back to Klaus, she was surprised to find him watching her. "So, Uncle Nik?"

"Short for Niklaus," he answered with a shrug, stepping closer. "My sister is determined to civilize me from a life of bachelorhood, and she assumes sending her children with me at every chance will help."

Caroline snorted at that. "Clearly, your sister hasn't been single in a while," she replied. "Seeing guys with kids, I don't know. They seem more responsible, therefore hotter?"

"Are you asking," Klaus asked, stepping closer again, "or explaining? You wouldn't happen to know anything about that phenomenon, would you?"

Blushing, Caroline stepped back, only to hit the couch with her hip. "Ow," she muttered before looking back. Embarrassed, she realized he was concerned she had hurt herself. "I'm fine, just clumsy."

"And beautiful," he said, winking.

"Does that work on all the girls you meet with your nieces," Caroline asked in a huff. She couldn't tell if he was being genuine, and that unnerved her.

Shrugging, Klaus met her gaze honestly. "I don't usually pay attention to women when I'm with Evie and Meg," he answered. With a wicked grin, he pulled out his card. "You just stand out, love."

"It's Caroline," she replied, rolling her eyes. Yet, she warily took his card. "Is this because you want to buy the house, of which you've only seen two rooms?"

"It's because I want to see you again, away from nieces and grandmother's houses," he admitted. He looked out to the girls, who were happily swinging away. "Though they seem to like the house, too."

Biting her lip, Caroline tucked the card into the clipboard she had stashed on the end table. "I guess we'll see how the rest of the tour goes, then," she said, hoping he read the potential in her words.

Nodding, Klaus held out his arm for her take his elbow. "Shall we, love?"


End file.
